Local balafon player on his family's 800-year stewardship of the instrument and it's tradition

Local balafon player Balla Kouyaté joined WBUR's Morning Edition to talk about his family's legacy with the ancient instrument.

He first picked it up as a child in his native Mali and played alongside his mother for farmers in his home village. Kouyate’s family has spent more than 800 years as caretakers of the original sacred balafon, which is still in his dad's village in West Africa.